April 23, 2012

Many many years ago, Mom had a really tough time getting my sister to eat green vegetables. Anything green on her plate would be deemed to be 'kaarela' (bitter melon), and remain untouched! The only green vegetable that didnt qualify as 'kaarela' was green peas. Needless to say, Mom incorporated peas in most dishes, hoping that some of it would end up in her stomach. Matar Papdi is a traditional Gujarati dish usually made during winter with very tender whole peas in a pod. This dish was one of her (and my) favourites, and still is. I find sugar snap peas to be the closest to those 'tender green peas in a pod' back home. Here it goes.Serves: 2-4 personsPreparation time: 5 minutesCook time: 20-25 minutes

April 18, 2012

I can never decide what I want to eat for breakfast. Maybe because its too early in the morning, and I'm still "booting" (read half asleep) most days! So to come up with a nice fancy breakfast for family/ friends is a BIG deal for me. I'd rather do something super simple and pass it for something fancy. Here is my take on the simple egg in a toast, made to look fancy-shmancy :)

Cook time: 5-7 minutesServes: 1-2 persons

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (Any bread you like)

2 eggs

Butter/ oil spray

Salt to taste

Pepper 1 pinch

Cheese (optional)

1 star shaped cookie cutter

Method:

Set a non-stick griddle/ pan on medium heat. Brush/ spray a little bit of butter/ oil.

Using the cookie cutter, cut out a star in the center of one bread slice, wiggle gently to get a star shaped hole in the slice. Repeat for the remaining slice. Save the star shaped bread.

Lightly toast the bread and the star shaped piece on the griddle/ pan. Flip both onto the other side.

Gently break an egg into the star shaped hole. Reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid.

Uncover and remove from heat when egg is done to the consistency you desire. Gingerly slide the Starry Egg toast into a plate.

April 16, 2012

Mango is undoubtedly my favorite fruit and anything about it (even thought) makes me very happy. I got this recipe from a friend a few summers back and since then it has always been in demand. Here goes the unbelievably easy recipe for all of you.This recipe calls for 3 mango pies. The friend who passed me this recipe tried adjusting ingredient amounts to make 1 pie and unfortunately it did not turn out well- she warned! But you never know, it might work for you! I have not tried yet coz most of our friends have sweet tooth. So we never have leftover desserts in our fridge :)

April 9, 2012

While I have baked many a cake, I usually frost or glaze them - never mustered enough courage use fondant. I love carrots and carrot cakes. Sadly, my best taste tester (read hubby) does not. Needless to say, I rarely bake carrot cakes. So when we invited our friends over this Easter, I decided to bake a carrot cake and cover it with marshmallow fondant. I used my favorite carrot cake recipe here and made a carrot shaped carrot cake. Here it goes.

Grease and line a 11x9" sheet pan and a 8"x8" square pan (or any other shape) with parchment paper. I used only the sheet pan cake to make the carrot shape. I did not want to reduce the recipe to half, lest it changes the chemistry. You can use the other cake to make a smaller carrot, or any other shape. I just frosted it with cream cheese.

Whip butter and sugar (Both white and brown) with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, water & grated carrots. Beat until well combined.

Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped walnuts.The batter will be very thick.

Spring is here. My dahlia plants are growing quickly, and a pair of doves are nesting in one of the hanging planters in my patio. It also means its time for Easter. While it is a relatively new festival for me, I think its a wonderful way to celebrate the advent of spring. All the colourful eggs and bunnies make me smile. This Easter, I made some white bunny butter cookies with pink ears to give away as party favors. Here it goes.

In a large bowl, beat two sticks of butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until mixture is pale and smooth.

Add the flour mixture in and mix just until the flour is incorporated. The dough might not come together completely. Knead into a soft ball.

Take a ball of dough about 2-3 inches. (I made some pink bunnies too. Pinch off less if you want only white bunnies). Add a drop of pink food colour to the small piece of dough and knead well, till the colour is evenly blended. Add more colour if you want a darker shade of pink.

The dough is pretty firm- almost like play dough consistency. I started shaping right away. If the dough is soft to work with, cover in cling film and refrigerate for 45 minutes and then work on the shapes.

Shaping:

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll a tablespoon of dough into a smooth tear drop shape to resemble a bunny. Gently place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining white dough. Place each of the shaped cookie dough about 1'' apart. The cookies dont spread much.

Pink bunny ears.

Super cute bunny tails

Tiny pink bunnies

Pinch very small amount of pink dough, and shape into a bunny ear. Place on top of the white dough bunny and press down gently. Repeat for the other ear. I tried several shapes (some with round base and narrow tips, some floppy ears and some narrow long ears), and dont think any two bunnies looked identical.

Pinch an even tinier amount and make a tiny bushy tail of the bunny. Repeat above process for tiny pink bunnies.

Refrigerate the cookies for 30-45 minutes.

Baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 18-20 minutes in the middle or lower rack till cookies light brown on the bottom.

Let cool completely. Make tiny eyes (with molten chocolate and a toothpick), whiskers etc if you wish. I just left them the way they were. Simple and cute!

Easter bunny cookies

Wrapping:Since I wanted to give each guest some cookies as party favors, I had to figure out a way to wrap them in small boxes. Here's what I did.

Printed template I had seen here, and improvised to make it somewhat simpler (given that I was making these the night before Easter). I swapped the bunnies for eggs, and cut the template on colourful construction paper.

Wrapped 4-5 cookies in cling film and placed in each of the folded boxes. Tied the top with wire tiebacks.

Adorned boxes with easter ornaments and candies. The outcome was cute and colourful. What do you think?

Easter party favours

Happy Easter!!

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

PS. I made two batches of cookies, and they turned out great both times. :)

April 6, 2012

Posto boda or spicy poppy seed cutlet is probably my favourite Bengali side dish. It is a staple in most Bengali households, including my in-laws'. It is usually served with rice and daal. I learnt how to make this from my mom-in-law who is a fantastic cook! Here it goes.Serves - 2-4 personsPreparation time: 10 minutesCook time:10 minutesIngredients:

April 4, 2012

Sankranti is a winter festival celebrated all over India and very close to my heart because of all the joyous childhood memories it brings back...This day's menu in a typical Bengali household solely consisted of plethora of sweets in different shapes, sizes and consistency... Sheer Bliss for people with sweet tooth!!

This year, I tried making this Bengali sweet but in an extremely non-traditional way. The taste was very much the same with minimal effort. I learnt it from a family friend who had been away from India for many years and knows many such taste-tricks to keep us going!Serves : 8-10 peoplePreparation Time : 5 minsCooking Time : 30 minutesIngredients:

About us

A blog by two foodies to indulge in our passion for food that makes us happy and everyone around us happier! Hope you enjoy reading and trying out these recipes as much as we enjoy sharing them :)
Ajanta from Amherst & Hetal from Houston